


You were in love with him weren't you?

by Space_Violets



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Moving On, mentions of steve/bucky and sam/riley, romance is very subtle so be warned, sam and bucky tell each other about their ex boyfriends basically, set during tfaws, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28157667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Violets/pseuds/Space_Violets
Summary: Bucky tells Sam about his relationship with Steve and Sam tells Bucky about his relationship with Riley. Sometimes you need to talk about these things before you can move on.“You were in love with him weren't you?” Bucky’s hand stilled on the knife. One. Two. Three seconds before he started chopping again. Carrots for the stew he insisted on making a few days after moving into this safe house.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	You were in love with him weren't you?

“You were in love with him weren't you?” Bucky’s hand stilled on the knife. One. Two. Three seconds before he started chopping again. Carrots for the stew he insisted on making a few days after moving into this safe house. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled, opening the fridge and grabbing the bag of celery. 

“Yes you do.” Sam was seated across the counter with a miniature screwdriver and redwing. He looked up from his work and looked Bucky in the eyes. “Steve. You we’re more than just friends.” 

“You have no proof that we-”

“You almost punched our TV last night because the news mentioned him.” Bucky turned his back on Sam and lit their stove, adding all his ingredients before turning back around and looking Sam in the eyes. 

“You’re telling me you aren’t pissed that our best friend left us to go marry a woman who told him to move on? You aren’t upset that he created a completely different timeline instead of just staying here?” 

“Of course I am” 

“Great then-”

“That’s not an answer Barnes.” Bucky made a face and bit his lip. 

“Yeah, I loved him. We… We were kind of together when you were all on the run. He said that when everything calmed down we…” He turned around and stirred the stew, turning the burner down slightly. “Said that we could be a proper couple. Wouldn’t have to hide it.” He turned back around and met Sam’s eyes. “Clearly he was lying.” At that point Redwing powered up and flew to the foyer, where Sam’s wings were stashed. 

“And back in the day?” Sam asked, putting the skrewdriver back in his toolkit. Bucky moved to sit at the barstool next to him. 

“You have to understand, back then I-” He shook his head. “Steve was already picked on enough, he didn’t want anyone to look at him like he was a fairy. We experimented when I was 17 but he decided it was too dangerous.” He ran his hand through his hair. “He was lucky enough to like women too so…” 

“Steve’s bisexual?”

“Well, we didn’t have that word back then but I guess so.”  
“And you?”

“I’m” Bucky shook his head. “I have memories of dating women but I can’t remember ever… I can’t remember ever finding them attractive and I haven’t since coming out of the ice so I guess I’m...” Bucky stopped, a confused look on his face. 

“Gay” Sam reminded him, smiling at the other man. 

“Right terminology changed,” Bucky said before standing up to check the stew again. “Should be done in about five more minutes.” Sam stood up and crossed the gap between them. 

“I’m sorry. It couldn’t have been easy back then. Most people nowadays aren't going to judge you though. If you decide to date again.” His palms started sweating a little at the last sentence. He hoped no heat would come to his face. Bucky gave him a quizzical look. 

“Thanks, I’m just… I just need some time to heal.” 

“Right, of course.” He was about to turn around and leave the room before it got awkward when Bucky brought his hand to Sam’s face. He tentatively ran his thumb over Sam’s cheekbone. He leaned into the touch, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. 

“Sam, thank you. I had the chance to go back in time with Steve but I didn’t because… well there’s a lot of reasons... but you’re definitely one of them. I just…” He dropped his hand. His face had a light pink tint to it. Sam knew this was something neither of them could continue to talk about. At least not today. 

“I’m going to go do a parameter check, you better not eat all that soup before I get back.” Bucky rolled his eyes. 

“It’s stew.” 

“Whatever.” 

***

Sam was doing his morning jog when his wristwatch started vibrating. He slowed to a stop and saw that Bucky was calling him. “Hey dude what’s up?” 

“Where are you?” Bucky asked, the stress in voice clear. Sam heard gunshots in the background and Bucky muttering curse words under his breath. 

“I’m a mile from the house. I’ll be there-” 

“No.” Bucky interrupted him, aggressively. “There’s too many of them. I’ll get your wings and meet you at the emergency evacuation point. Got it?” 

“Are you sure-”

“Yes, don’t even think about coming back.” Bucky hung up before Sam could get another word in. He sighed and turned around, running to where they had their back up vehicle stashed. When he got there, Bucky was putting Sam’s wings and a black backpack into the trunk. Sam noticed the blood on his shirt right away. 

“Have you been shot?” He asked, slightly out of breath. 

“Not my blood.” He muttered, closing the trunk. He threw the keys at Sam. “You’re driving. I called Fury while I was running here. We can head to base.” 

They rode in silence for 30 minutes, before Bucky perked up, as if remembering something. “I almost forgot,” he pulled a set of dog tags out of his pocket. “I was able to grab these off your dresser.” Sam nearly swerved off the road, tears pricking his eyes. He grabbed them from Bucky’s hand and put them around his neck and under his shirt. 

“Thank you Bucky. I’m- I really appreciate it.” 

“Will you tell me about him?” Bucky’s voice was soft. Sam wanted to close his eyes but chose to stare at the road in front of him instead. “If not that’s cool.” Bucky said, “I understand.” 

“Riley was my wingman. Back in the Force, we did rescue missions together until he- until he got shot out of the sky.” 

“Just your wingman?” Bucky asked, causing Sam to clench his jaw. 

“Yep.” They sat in silence a little while longer until Bucky spoke again. 

“You were in love with him.” Bucky stated, no hint of questioning in his tone. 

“You can’t possibly-” Sam sighed, “He was my best friend that’s all.” 

“You don’t usually wear your best friend's dog tags to sleep. Not unless they were more than your best friend.” Sam glanced at his GPS which showed another 10 minutes until they arrived then glanced at Bucky who was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He smiled, despite himself. 

“You watching me sleep Barnes?” He couldn’t see Bucky roll his eyes but he knew it was happening. 

“You’ve forgotten to take them off a few times before breakfast. It’s cool dude, you don’t have to talk about it.” They rode in silence again for a few more minutes until Sam decided to speak. 

“He was my partner in all ways someone could be. We were gonna get married when we finished our tour and left the force but…” His voice trailed off. 

“I’m sorry.” Bucky stated simply. “I’m sure losing him was really hard on you.” Sam shifted in his seat. 

“It’s been a few years, I’m learning to move on.” He paused, “Ready to move on.” He glanced at Bucky again who had a slight smile on his lips. Sam adjusted himself so he could drive with one hand and put the other on Bucky’s thigh, just above the knee. He could feel the other man still beside him. 

“This okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Bucky nodded his head. “Always.”


End file.
